Filament crimping apparatus



Aug. 14, 1956 E. H. sHATTucK FILAMENT CRIMPING APPARATUS Filed Maron 1, 1954 TTORNEY will United States Patent FILAMENT :CRIMPING APPARATUS Ewart H. Shattuck, Ardsley, N. Y., assigner to Alexander Smith, Incorporated, White Plains, N. Y., a corporaI tion of New York Application March 1, 1954, Serial No. 413,205

9 Claims. (Cl. 2S-1) This invention relates to an apparatus for crimping continuous filament tow, 'filament yarn, or spun yarn.

An object of the invention is to provide crimping apparatus which is particularly adapted for use with small denier tow or yarn.

Another object is to provide a stuffer crimper of the above type having novel and improved means for maintaining a constant setting time for the material in the crimping chamber.

Another object is to provide improved means for controlling the rate of withdrawal of the crimped material so as to maintain constant the quantity of material in the crimping chamber.

Another object is to provide a crimping apparatus for the above purpose having novel and improved details of construction and features of operation.

Various other objects and advantages will be apparent as the nature of the invention is more fully disclosed.

The nature of the invention will be better understood by referring to the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof, in which a specific embodiment has been set forth for purposes of illustration.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a crimping apparatus embodying the present invention with parts in section to show the construction thereof;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the apparatus of Fig. 1;

Figs. 3 and 4 are transverse sections taken on the lines 3-3 and 4 4 respectively of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 5 is a detail view illustrating a down-twister receiving the crimped filament from the control roll.

Referring to the drawings more in detail the invention is shown as comprising a pair of feed rolls and 11 which are adapted to feed continuous filament tow or yarn 12 into a sleeve 14, shown as loosely mounted in a bore 15 in a housing 16. Suitable means such as set screws 18 are spaced around the housing 16 to secure the sleeve 14 in any desired adjusted position. The housing 16 carries a plurality of electrical heating units 17 which extend along the entire length of the housing and are adapted to heat the housing walls and the sleeve 14.

Feed rolls 10 and 1'1 are shown as mounted on shafts 2i) and 21 respectively and driven by meshing gears 22 and 23 respectively. The shaft 21 is mounted in a fixed bearing carried by a frame 24 which also carries the housing 16. The shaft is journaled in a bear-ing 25 carried by an arm 26 which is pivoted at 27 to the frame 24 and is spring-pressed by spring 28`bearing against a disc 29 held on an adjusting screw 30 which is threaded into a fixed ear 31 attached to the frame 24. The spring 2S is adapted to hold the roll 10 in pressure engagement with the filament passing between the rolls 10 and 11 and the teeth on the gears 22 and 23 are sufficiently deep to remain in mesh when the roll 10 is retracted in response to the passage of the filament. The

Patented Aug. 14, 1956 roll 10 may be loaded hydraulically or weighted for gravity loading if desired.

The sleeve 14 is formed with a bore 13 which may be circular in cross section or of any other desired cross section and may be tapered to permit an expanding chamber in the direction of feed of the crimped material, and carries at its lower end a saddle 35 having a bore 36 which may be square in cross section, the diagonals of which may conform to the diameter of the circular bore 13 in the sleeve 14 and the sides of which join the circular bore 13 smoothly without sharp bends or corners which might restrict the feed of the yarn from the saddle to the bore 13. Obviously the bore 36 may be circular or any other desired shape and may form a continuation of the bore 13 if desired. The bores 13 and 36 may be lined as by a porcelain or glass layer or by a metal plating such as chrome t-o reduce the friction of the surface and to provide a surface which is resistant to acids.

The saddle 35 is provided with a pair of curved surfaces 33 conforming generally to the peripheries of the feed rolls 10 and 11 and with a pair of side members 39 which extend on opposite sides of the rolls 10 and 11 so as to form a confined crimping chamber. The curved surfaces 38 of the saddle 35 intersect the bore 36 at edges 40 which are rounded so as to avoid corners or sharp edges which might d-amage the filaments.

The sleeve 14 is so designed that the saddle 35 may rest lightly upon the rolls 10 and 11 and be free to be retracted from the rolls a limited distance, such as a few thousandths of an inch, in response to the pressure of the material which is packed into the crimping chamber by the feed rolls. The sleeve 14 fits Within the bore 15 of the housing 16 with a sufficient clearance to permit a limited amount of lateral movement in all directions. Hence the entire sleeve 14 may remain floating', and free for limited vertical and lateral movement in response to the pressure and distribution of the material therein.

In certain instances it may be desirable to fix the sleeve 14 with a clearance of a few thousandths of an inch with the feed rolls. In that case the sleeve may be adjusted and set by the set screws 18. The sleeve 14 and saddle 35 may be formed as a part of the housing 16 if such adjustment is not required.

The sleeve 14 may be formed in two parts 14a and 14b which are clamped together in spaced alignment by a clamp 41 of heat insulating material such as mica etc. so as to retard heat transfer from the heated section 14a to the upper or cooling section 14b. The latter section may have a bore slightly larger than the section 14a so as to facilitate the feed of the packed material. The cooling section 14b may be provided with cooling fins 42 or with other cooling means such as a water coat or jacket if desired to cool the crimped material to the desired temperature before it is discharged. An air blower may pass a current of air for cooling over the fins 42.

To facilitate the proper positioning of the sleeve 14 with respect to the rolls 1t) and 11 a collar 43 is provided which is attached to the sleeve by a set screw 43a and is adjusted to a predetermined spacing above the housing 16 by an adjusting screw 44. The setting is made by allowing the sleeve 14 to rest upon the rolls 10 and 11 bringing the collar 43 down against the top of the housing 16 and tightening the set screw 43a. The adjusting screw 44 is then turned an amount which is predetermined to raise the collar 43 and sleeve 14l to effect the desired clearance with the rolls 10 and 11. The sleeve can be fixed in this position by the set screws 1S.

The crimped material within the bore 13 is held compacted by a plunger 45 which fits loosely within the bore 13 and rests upon the packed material therein. The plunger 45 is shown as extending upwardly beyond the sleeve 14 and may be weighted in accordance with the pressure which is to be `exerted upon the packed material within the bore 13. At its upper lend the plunger 45 is provided with a pin 47 having an inclined arm 48 disposed between a pair of vfixed arms 49 attached to the housing 16 and having a lesser slope than the arm 48.

rl`he plunger 45 is formed with a bore 5f) which is adapted to permit the passage of the crimped tow or yarn 53, but forms a frictiondevice for eliminating slubs or snarls. The crimped tow or yarn passes over the arms 49 and under the arm 48 to control rolls 54 and 55 by which it is withdrawn from the bore 13.

The control rolls 54 and 55 are shown as mounted on brackets 56 and are connected to be driven by shaft 57 at a speed which has a predetermined ratio to the speed of the feed rolls and 11. The feed and control rolls may be driven by separate motors or may be coupled together and driven by a single motor.

The control roll 54 is tapered with its larger diameter side toward the left as seen in Fig. 1. The roll 55 may be smaller than the roll 54 and may be cylindrical and mounted about an axis which is slightly inclined to the plane through the axis of the roll 54. It is driven at the average peripheral speed of the roll 54 by a belt 58.

The yarn may pass from the control rolls to a constant speed or constant tension, take-up mechanism such as a Winder, skeiner, down-twister, or other standard device which is capable of receiving and packaging the yarn at a substantially constant rate. In Fig. l the crimped yarn from the control rolls is shown as passing to a winder 59 driven at substantially constant average winding speed by a roller 68 having traversing guide: channels 71 and having a tension control roller 72 connected to maintain the winding operation under constant tension conditions. The Winder is of any standard type and is not shown in detail.

In Fig. 5 the roll 54 is mounted to receive the yarn directly from the plunger 45 and the yarn from the control rolls is shown as passing to the traveler 73 of a ring twister having a ring 74 and a spindle 75 driven by suitable means. In this embodiment the crimped filaments, either untwisted or slightly twisted, are given a higher twist after crimping to produce a yarn having fullness and improved texture.

The control roll 55 may be omitted if desired and a single, tapered control roll 54 used to control the rate of withdrawal of the yarn from the crimping chamber so as to maintain a uniform setting time in the chamber.

For guiding the yarn 12 to the feed rolls 1G and 11 a guide tube 61 is provided having at its upper end curved surfaces 62 which conform to the surfaces of the feed rolls 1t) and 11 and which serve to guide and center the filament 12 with respect to the feed rolls. The filament is tensioned by a spring-tension device 65. The tube 61 is mounted on a bracket 67 which is secured in the frame 24.

The filament may be preheated in the guide tube 61 by suitable heating means such as an electrical heating unit 63 disposed around the tube 61 or by other heating means such as a Calrod unit, infra red rays, or a steam jacket. Moisture may also be applied to the yarn in the tube 61 as by steam or hot water to condition the yarn for crimping. In this way the yarn is conditioned immediately before its entrance into the crimping Zone so that efcient and controlled crimping takes place.

The yarn for crimping may be fed from a spool 76 0f continuous filament bundles, either untwisted or slightly twisted. The spool 76 is mounted on a bracket 77 which is rotatable in a bearing 78 for twisting the bundle as it is unwound from the spool. Of course if the filaments are pretwisted on the spool to the extent desired for crimping they may be unwound therefrom without further twisting. Any other standard type of up-twister can be used for the above purpose.

In starting operation it is usually desirable to insert a temporary spacer of some material such as felt or cotton pads between the feed rolls and the curved surfaces of the saddle to serve as a temporary soft saddle to prevent pinching of or injury to the filament. As the filament is fed into the chamber 36 between the feed rolls 10 and 11 it is folded over and crimped as set forth in Rainard Patent No. 2,575,837 dated November 20, 1951, and is advanced through the chamber 13 in which it is held compacted and crimped. After suflicient filament has been crimped and fed into the chamber 13 to fill the same, the temporary felt saddle is removed and the same purpose is served by the packed filament.

The plunger 45 is now inserted in the sleeve 14. The feed rolls 10 and 11 now operate to feed the filament con tinuously into the chamber 36 where it is crimped, and through the chamber 13 where it is held compacted under setting conditions until the crimp has been set. The temperature of the heating section 14a is controlledl by the heat supplied to the housing 16. If moisture is required for setting steam may be passed into the interior of the sleeve.

The temperature of the cooling section 14b is controlled by the design of the fins 42 and by the length of the cooling section so that the filaments are cooled to a temperature to set the crimp while the material is held compacted in the cooling section 14b.

The filament with the set crimp is removed by the control rolls 54 and 55 which are timed to operate at about the average Speed required to maintain the chamber 13 filled to a constant level.

If the crimped yarn 53 is withdrawn at too high a rate the quantity of yarn packed in the crimping chamber decreases and the plunger 45 is lowered. Conversely, if the crimped yarn is withdrawn too slowly the mass of packed yarn in the chamber increases and the plunger 45 will be raised. This results in an automatic correction to the rate of withdrawal by the control rolls as follows: When the plunger 45 is lowered, the arm 48 is lowered with respect to the arms 49. The inclination of the arm 48 is such that the yarn is pushed along the arms 49 toward the smaller diameter side of the tapered roll 54 which thus decreases the rate of withdrawal of the yarn by the roll 54. Conversely, if the plunger 45 rises, the arm 48 also rises and allows the yarn to shift toward the larger diameter side of the control roll 54 and thus increase the rate of Withdrawal.

It is to be noted that the slope of the arms 48 and 49 is such that any vertical movement of the plunger effects an amplified lateral shifting of the yarn with respect to the tapered control roll 54. This action is so adjusted that the quantity of yarn in the crimping chamber remains substantially constantl and the movement of the plunger is negligible.

If an amplified control is not required the tapered roll 54 may be mounted to rotate about an axis parallel to the plunger 45 as in Fig. 5, and the yarn fed directly thereto from the plunger. In that case raising and lowering of the plunger serves to shift the yarn along the tapered roll and thus compensates for any variation in feed.

The crimped yarn is fed from the control rolls 54 and 55 to the Winder 59 or to the down-twister or other packaging device. If the take-up operates at constant tension it automatically adjusts its action to any change in rate of withdrawal by the control rolls 54 and 55. The take-up may however be operated at constant speed, selected as the average speed of take-up, since there is enough stretch in the crimped yarn to adjust itself to minor variations in rate of feed.

Since the saddle 35 is floating with respect to the feed rolls 1G and 11 or is permanently spaced therefrom the filament cannot become wedged between the curved surfaces 38 of the saddle and the periphery of the feed rolls and cannot be cut by the leading edge of the saddle.

Hence there is no tendency towedge and damage the filament or break the same between the feed rolls and the contiguous surfaces of the saddle. The material in effect forms its own saddle in contact with the rolls when the saddle 35 is raised from the rolls during the normal operation of the crimper.

The crimp frequency and amplitude is controlled as a function of the back pressure and the mechanical characteristics of the filament (bending movement, crushing resistance, pretreatment, and the like).

The preheated filament is guided to a center position on the feed rolls by the guide tube 61. The tensioning device 65 may be set for the desired feed characteristics. The filament can be preheated to a temperature below the softening temperature such that the desired crimping is facilitated.

Obviously the crimping chamber may be reversed with respect to the feed rolls so that the filament is fed downwardly instead of upwardly to the crimping chamber if desired, in which case spring loading may be used for the tioating saddle and closure plunger, `or the saddle may be fixed with the desired clearance.

The crimped filament remains in the crimping chamber under setting conditions a sufficient length of time for the internal stresses produced by the crimping to be relieved, so that the tendency of the crimp to open up after the material is removed from the chamber is eliminated. ln the case of thermoplastic filaments, such as acetate rayon, nylon, dynel, Orlon, acrylan, the cooling section 14h is so designed that the material cools to a temperature below that at which there is any tendency for plastic flow while still packed in the chamber. Since the stresses have been relieved by maintaining the material in heated condition in the crimping chamber, the crimp becomes permanently set on cooling. moisture conditions may be established in the crimping chamber, depending upon the type of material being crimped. This applies particularly to fibers which swell and soften in water, such as viscose and cuprammonium rayon, silk, and regenerated protein fibers. It may also be applied under suitable controls as to temperature and moisture to animal fibers such as wool, or vegetable fibers, such as cotton.

The provisions of a controlled rate of discharge as well as a controlled rate of feed established a uniform operation. The nature of the crimp, the temperature, the time within the crimping chamber, and the rate of feed and the rate of cooling can be regulated with great accuracy.

The filament bundles on the spool 76 may be untwisted or slightly twisted and may be passed through the crimper in this form and twisted after crimping on the downtwister of Fig. 5. The individual filaments are thus crimped and the resulting twisted yarn has enhanced fullness. The wound package is pervious and if wound on a pervious support may be readily washed or dyed by passing the liquid through the package. The package is also adapted for drying in an oven as the hot gases readily pass therethrough.

lf the filaments are twisted prior to crimping the yarn is crimped as well as the individual filaments. By varying the amount of twist before crimping any desired combination of yarn crimp and filament crimp can be obtained.

The yarn may be plied before crimping in which case the plies are opened up during crimping due to the action of the feed rolls so that the whole yarn has a fuller appearance.

The continuous filament bundles treated by the present process may have a denier of 10,000 or less as distinguished from tow for making staple which may have a much greater denier. The yarn may be twisted or untwisted.

Continuous filament yarn crimped and twisted according to this invention has the appearance of a spun Suitable yarn but is lighter in weight than a spun yarn of lthe same diameter made from staple fibers. The yarn thus produced eliminates the usualsteps of carding, combing, spinning and other normal steps involved in spinning staple fibers. This process permits the production of yarns having the appearance of a spun yarn, but in sizes below the practical limits of yarns spun from staple fibers.

The apparatus may' also be applied to the crimping of staple such as wool sliver or spun yarns of natural or synthetic fibers,

Although a specic embodiment of the invention has been shown for purposes of illustration it is to be understood that the invention may be applied to various uses and that changes and modifications may be made therein as will be apparent to a personl skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:

l. An apparatus of the class described, comprising a chamber, means feeding yarn or the like into said chamber, a tapered control roll withdrawing said yarn from said chamber after passing therethrough, a member movable longitudinally of said chamber in accordance with the quantity of yarn therein, and means responsive to longitudinal movement of said member to shift the yarn laterally on said tapered roll in a direction to vary the rate of withdrawal so as to maintain a substantially uniform quantity of yarn in said chamber.

2. An apparatus of the class described, comprising a chamber, means feeding yarn or the like into said chamber, a tapered control roll withdrawing said yarn from said chamber after passing therethrough, a member movable longitudinally of said chamber in accordance with the quantity of yarn therein, a guide member guiding yarn from said chamber to said tapered roll and means responsive to longitudinal movement of said first member to actuate said guide member to shift said yarn laterally of said tapered roll in a direction to vary the rate of withdrawal so as to maintain a substantially constant quantity of yarn in said chamber.

3. An apparatus of the class described, comprising a chamber, means feeding yarn or the like into said chamber, a tapered control roll withdrawing said yarn from said chamber after passing therethrough, a member movable longitudinally of said chamber in accordance with the quantity of yarn therein, a fixed guide arm over which said yarn passes in feeding from said chamber to said tapered roll, and an inclined guide arm carried by said member and positioned to shift the yarn laterally on said first arm as said member moves longitudinally of said chamber, so as to vary the rate of withdrawal by said control roll in a sense to maintain a substantially constant quantity of yarn in said chamber.

4. Apparatus for crimping yarn or the like, comprising a crimping chamber, feed rolls feeding said yarn into said chamber against a mass of yarn therein, a heated guide positioned to guide the yarn to said feed rolls and preheat said yarn, a tapered control roll withdrawing said yarn from said chamber after passing therethrough, a member movable longitudinally of said chamber in accordance with the quantity of yarn therein, and means responsive to longitudinal movement of said member to shift the yarn laterally on said tapered roll in a direction to vary the rate of withdrawal so as to maintain a substantially constant quantity of yarn in said chamber.

5. Apparatus for crimping filament tow or yarn, comprising a housing, a sleeve fitting loosely in said housing for limited axial and lateral movement and having walls forming a crimping chamber, a pair of feed rolls at one end of said housing positioned to feed material into one end of said chamber, said sleeve having a saddle with an external surface forming with said rolls a confined entrance to said chamber, and adjustable means mounting said saddle in spaced relationship with respect to said rolls.

6. Apparatus for crimping filaments or the like, comprising a tubular member forming a crimping chamber,

fa second tubular member forming a cooling chamber, heat insulating means mounting said members in spaced axial alignment with said second member insulated as to heat tion, means heating said housing to transfer heat to the l15 portion of said sleeve therein, and cooling means to cool said projecting portion of said sleeve.

8. Apparatus as set forth in claim 7 in which said projecting portion of said sleeve is heat insulated from said heated portion.

9. Apparatus as Set forth in claim 7 in which said sleeve comprises a pair of sections spaced apart axially to reduce heat transfer therebetween.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Lohrke Apr. 22, 1947 Rainard Nov. 20, 1951 .autr e. 

1. AN APPARATUS OF THE CLASS DESCRIBED, COMPRISING A CHAMBER, MEANS FEEDING YARN OF THE LIKE INTO SAID CHAMBER, A TAPERED CONTROL ROLL WITHDRAWING SAID YARN FROM SAID CHAMBER AFTER PASSING THERETHROUGH, A MEMBER MOVABLE LONGITUDINALLY OF SAID CHAMBER IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE QUANTITY OF YARN THEREIN, AND MEANS RESPONSIVE TO LONGITUDINAL MOVEMENT OF SAID MEMBER TO SHIFT THE YARN LATERALLY ON SAID TAPERED ROLL IN A DIRECTION TO VARY THE RATE OF WITHDRAWAL SO AS TO MAINTAIN A SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORM QUANTITY OF YARN IN SAID CHAMBER.
 7. APPARATUS IS CRIMPING FILAMENTS OR THE LIKE, COMPRISING A HOUSING, A TUBULAR SLEEVE DISPOSED IN SAID HOUSING WITH A PORTIOM PROJECTING THEREFROM, FEED ROLLS TO FEED FILAMENTS INTO SAID SLEEVE FOR CRIMPING AND TO FEED THE CRIMPED FILAMENT ALONG SAID SLEEVE TO SAID PROJECTING PORTION, MEANS HEATING SAID HOUSING TO TRANSFER HEAT TO THE PORTION OF SAID SLEEVE THEREIN, AND COOLING MEANS TO COOL SAID PROJECTING PORTION OF SAID SLEEVE. 